Treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)

The main treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are targeted cancer drugs. You might have a combination of a targeted cancer drug with other anti cancer treatments. 

You might not need treatment straight away, or never need it. Doctors monitor you with regular check ups and tests. They call this 'watch and wait', 'active monitoring', or 'active surveillance'. 

You may not need treatment straight away. Your team decides depending on how advanced your CLL is (the stage) and your symptoms. 

When CLL comes back it is called a relapse. You might need more treatment.

Treatment for CLL can be as tablets or as an injection into a vein as a drip (intravenously).

CLL and its treatment can cause problems. Supportive treatments can help to either prevent or control these problems.  

A  stem cell transplant isn't a common treatment for CLL. You usually have stem cells from another person (a donor).

Rarely, your doctor might suggest an operation to remove your spleen if you have chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

How often you have check ups will depend on whether you are having treatment or not and how you are feeling. Your specialist will let you know when they want to see you and how often.